The structure of the {{path|.kcfg}} file is described by its XML Schema (kcfg.xsd - available from

The structure of the {{path|.kcfg}} file is described by its XML Schema (kcfg.xsd - available from

−

[http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0/kcfg.xsd here] or [http://websvn.kde.org/trunk/KDE/kdelibs/kdecore/kconfig_compiler/kcfg.xsd?view=markup from the kdecore library] ). Please go through it before you go any further.

+

[http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0/kcfg.xsd here] or [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdelibs/repository/revisions/master/entry/kdecore/kconfig_compiler/kcfg.xsd from the kdecore library] ). Please go through it before you go any further.

Lets create a simple .kcfg file. Please reference the code below as we go through each step.

Lets create a simple .kcfg file. Please reference the code below as we go through each step.

−

<code xml>

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<kcfg xmlns="http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0"

<kcfg xmlns="http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0"

Line 44:

Line 44:

xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0

xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0

http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0/kcfg.xsd" >

http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0/kcfg.xsd" >

−

<kcfgfile name="kjotsrc"/>

<include>kglobalsettings.h</include>

<include>kglobalsettings.h</include>

+

<kcfgfile name="kjotsrc"/>

<group name="kjots">

<group name="kjots">

<entry name="SplitterSizes" type="IntList">

<entry name="SplitterSizes" type="IntList">

Line 70:

Line 70:

</group>

</group>

</kcfg>

</kcfg>

−

</code>

+

</syntaxhighlight>

* Use your favorite code editor to open a your_application_name{{path|.kcfg}} file (of course replacing your_application_name with the name of the application you want to convert to KConfig XT).

* Use your favorite code editor to open a your_application_name{{path|.kcfg}} file (of course replacing your_application_name with the name of the application you want to convert to KConfig XT).

Line 84:

Line 84:

*#* Path - This is a string that is specially treated as a file-path. In particular paths in the home directory are prefixed with $HOME when being stored in the configuration file.

*#* Path - This is a string that is specially treated as a file-path. In particular paths in the home directory are prefixed with $HOME when being stored in the configuration file.

*#* Enum - This indicates an enumeration. The possible enum values should be provided via the &lt;choices&gt; tag. Enum values are accessed as integers by the application but stored as string in the configuration file. This makes it possible to add more values at a later date without breaking compatibility.

*#* Enum - This indicates an enumeration. The possible enum values should be provided via the &lt;choices&gt; tag. Enum values are accessed as integers by the application but stored as string in the configuration file. This makes it possible to add more values at a later date without breaking compatibility.

−

*#* IntList - This indicates a list of integers. This information is provided to the application as QValueList&lt;int&gt;. Useful for storing QSplitter geometries.

+

*#* IntList - This indicates a list of integers. This information is provided to the application as QList&lt;int&gt;. Useful for storing QSplitter geometries.

*#* PathList - List of Path elements.

*#* PathList - List of Path elements.

*# The min and max tags can be set to limit the value of the integer-type options.

*# The min and max tags can be set to limit the value of the integer-type options.

Line 107:

Line 107:

#* ItemAccessors - relates to the above item, if member variables are public then it might make little sense to generate accessors. By default they are generated,

#* ItemAccessors - relates to the above item, if member variables are public then it might make little sense to generate accessors. By default they are generated,

#* Mutators - similar to the above one, but applies to the mutator methods,

#* Mutators - similar to the above one, but applies to the mutator methods,

−

#* GlobalEnums - specifies whether enums should be class wide of whether they should be always explicitly prefixed with their type name,

+

#* GlobalEnums - specifies whether enums should be class wide or whether they should be always explicitly prefixed with their type name,

#* UseEnumTypes - specifies whether enum values should be passed as type int or as their enum type in the return value of accessor functions and the arguments of mutator and signal functions.

#* UseEnumTypes - specifies whether enum values should be passed as type int or as their enum type in the return value of accessor functions and the arguments of mutator and signal functions.

#* SetUserTexts - specifies whether &lt;label&gt;, &lt;tooltip&gt; and &lt;whatsthis&gt; tags should be processed. This allows tools like KConfigDialog make use of these tags. By default this tags are ignored

#* SetUserTexts - specifies whether &lt;label&gt;, &lt;tooltip&gt; and &lt;whatsthis&gt; tags should be processed. This allows tools like KConfigDialog make use of these tags. By default this tags are ignored

−

For details see the description of kconfig_compiler: [http://api.kde.org/4.0-api/kdelibs-apidocs/kdecore/html/kconfig_compiler.html]

+

For details see the description of kconfig_compiler: [http://api.kde.org/4.12-api/kdelibs-apidocs/kdecore/html/kconfig_compiler.html]

== Adjusting the CMakeLists.txt file ==

== Adjusting the CMakeLists.txt file ==

Line 117:

Line 117:

After creating the .kcfg and .kcfgc files the next step is to adjust the

After creating the .kcfg and .kcfgc files the next step is to adjust the

build to let kconfig_compiler generate the required class at compile time. For in-source builds, doing this is trivial and requires only one step, adding this two lines to the CMakeLists.txt file example (asuming your files are named settings.kcfg and settings.kcfgc):

build to let kconfig_compiler generate the required class at compile time. For in-source builds, doing this is trivial and requires only one step, adding this two lines to the CMakeLists.txt file example (asuming your files are named settings.kcfg and settings.kcfgc):

−

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="cmake">

−

kde4_add_kcfg_files(<project name>_SRCS settings.kcfgc)

+

kde4_add_kcfg_files(<project name>_SRCS settings.kcfgc)

−

install(FILES settings.kcfg DESTINATION ${KCFG_INSTALL_DIR})

+

install(FILES settings.kcfg DESTINATION ${KCFG_INSTALL_DIR})

−

+

</syntaxhighlight>

Alternatively, if a .moc file needs to be generated before compiling the generated source code, use

Alternatively, if a .moc file needs to be generated before compiling the generated source code, use

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="cmake">

+

kde4_add_kcfg_files(<project name>_SRCS GENERATE_MOC settings.kcfgc)

+

install(FILES settings.kcfg DESTINATION ${KCFG_INSTALL_DIR})

+

</syntaxhighlight>

+

This assures that the configuration class is properly generated (<tt>kde4_add_kcfg_files</tt>) and that the .kcfg is installed so it can be used by tools like the KConfigEditor (<tt>install</tt>).

−

kde4_add_kcfg_files(<project name>_SRCS GENERATE_MOC settings.kcfgc)

+

=== Out-of-source builds ===

−

install(FILES settings.kcfg DESTINATION ${KCFG_INSTALL_DIR})

+

−

+

−

This assures that the configuration class is properly generated (kde4_add_kcfg_files) and that the .kcfg is installed so it can be used by tools like the KConfigEditor (install).

+

−

+

−

=== out-of-source builds ===

+

Out-of-source builds require one more step.

Out-of-source builds require one more step.

−

'''The problem:''' In out-of-source builds, the code that is generated by kconfig_compiler is saved in the build tree. So how can we still include the header generated by kconfig_compiler with a simple ''#include "settings.h"''?

+

'''The problem:''' In out-of-source builds, the code that is generated by kconfig_compiler is saved in the build tree. So how can we still include the header generated by kconfig_compiler with a simple <tt>#include "settings.h"</tt>?

'''The solution:''' Probably you have yet a line similar to the following line in your CMakeLists.txt:

'''The solution:''' Probably you have yet a line similar to the following line in your CMakeLists.txt:

−

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="cmake">

−

include_directories(${QT_INCLUDE} ${KDE4_INCLUDES})

+

include_directories(${QT_INCLUDE} ${KDE4_INCLUDES})

−

+

</syntaxhighlight>

Add the variable ''CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR'', so that you get something like this:

Add the variable ''CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR'', so that you get something like this:

Notice that you should call ''include_directories'' only once in your project. (When you call ''include_directories'' in your base source directory, but than call it another time in a subdirectory (added by ''add_subdirectory''), than the second call will be ignored.)

+

Notice that you should call <tt>include_directories</tt> only once in your project. (When you call <tt>include_directories</tt> in your base source directory, but than call it another time in a subdirectory (added by <tt>add_subdirectory</tt>), then the second call will be ignored.)

== Use and Dialogs ==

== Use and Dialogs ==

Line 151:

Line 151:

The use will depend on whether you have added the <tt>Singleton=true</tt> entry to your .kcfgc file.

The use will depend on whether you have added the <tt>Singleton=true</tt> entry to your .kcfgc file.

−

One the nicest features of the KConfig XT is its seamless integration with the Qt

+

One of the nicest features of the KConfig XT is its seamless integration with the Qt

Designer generated dialogs. You can do that by using {{class|KConfigDialog}}. The

Designer generated dialogs. You can do that by using {{class|KConfigDialog}}. The

steps to do that are as follows:

steps to do that are as follows:

Line 157:

Line 157:

# Create the KConfigDialog and pass the instance of your configuration data as one of the arguments. The construct would look like the following example:

# Create the KConfigDialog and pass the instance of your configuration data as one of the arguments. The construct would look like the following example:

−

<code cppqt>

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="cpp-qt">

KConfigDialog* dialog = new KConfigDialog(

KConfigDialog* dialog = new KConfigDialog(

this, "settings", YourAppSettings::self() );

this, "settings", YourAppSettings::self() );

−

</code>

+

</syntaxhighlight>

assuming that YourAppSettings is the value of the ClassName variable from the kcfgc file and the settings class is a singelton.

assuming that YourAppSettings is the value of the ClassName variable from the kcfgc file and the settings class is a singelton.

Line 174:

Line 174:

With the following example.kcfg file:

With the following example.kcfg file:

−

<code xml>

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<kcfg xmlns="http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0"

<kcfg xmlns="http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0"

Line 193:

Line 193:

</group>

</group>

</kcfg>

</kcfg>

−

</code>

+

</syntaxhighlight>

−

And here's how to actually use the generated class. for the given kcfgc file.

+

And here's how to actually use the generated class for the given kcfgc file.

−

<code ini>

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="ini">

File=example.kcfg

File=example.kcfg

ClassName=ExampleSettings

ClassName=ExampleSettings

Singleton=true

Singleton=true

Mutators=true

Mutators=true

−

</code>

+

</syntaxhighlight>

The header files wouldn't change, but the cpp files must now contain the

The header files wouldn't change, but the cpp files must now contain the

following code to access and store the configuration data :

following code to access and store the configuration data :

−

<code cppqt>

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="cpp-qt">

...

...

#include <ExampleSettings.h>

#include <ExampleSettings.h>

Line 215:

Line 215:

m_port = ExampleSettings::port();

m_port = ExampleSettings::port();

}

}

−

void ExampleClass:saveSettings() {

+

void ExampleClass::saveSettings() {

ExampleSettings::setServerName( m_server );

ExampleSettings::setServerName( m_server );

ExampleSettings::setPort( m_port );

ExampleSettings::setPort( m_port );

ExampleSettings::self()->writeConfig();

ExampleSettings::self()->writeConfig();

}

}

−

</code>

+

</syntaxhighlight>

self() returns the current instance of the object. You need to call writeConfig() this way, since it's a virtual method.

self() returns the current instance of the object. You need to call writeConfig() this way, since it's a virtual method.

Line 232:

Line 232:

And you can use the dialog with the following code:

And you can use the dialog with the following code:

−

<code cppqt>

+

<syntaxhighlight lang="cpp-qt">

−

//An instance of your dialog could be already created and could be

+

// An instance of your dialog could be already created and could be

// cached, in which case you want to display the cached dialog

// cached, in which case you want to display the cached dialog

// instead of creating another one

// instead of creating another one

Line 248:

Line 248:

dialog->addPage( confWdg, i18n("Example"), "example" );

dialog->addPage( confWdg, i18n("Example"), "example" );

−

//User edited the configuration - update your local copies of the

+

// User edited the configuration - update your local copies of the

−

//configuration data

+

// configuration data

connect( dialog, SIGNAL(settingsChanged()),

connect( dialog, SIGNAL(settingsChanged()),

this, SLOT(updateConfiguration()) );

this, SLOT(updateConfiguration()) );

dialog->show();

dialog->show();

−

</code>

+

</syntaxhighlight>

−

And that's all it takes. You can have a look at [http://websvn.kde.org/trunk/KDE/kdegames/kreversi KReversi] and [http://websvn.kde.org/trunk/KDE/kdegames/ktron/ KTron] code in the [http://websvn.kde.org/trunk/KDE/kdegames kdegames module] to see a live example of KConfig XT!

+

And that's all it takes. You can have a look at [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdegames/kreversi/repository KReversi] and [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdegames/kmines/repository KMines] code in the [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdegames kdegames module] to see a live example of KConfig XT!

== Common Pitfalls and Tips ==

== Common Pitfalls and Tips ==

Line 263:

Line 263:

* Always try to add both the &lt;label&gt;, &lt;whatsthis&gt; and &lt;tooltip&gt; tags to each entry.

* Always try to add both the &lt;label&gt;, &lt;whatsthis&gt; and &lt;tooltip&gt; tags to each entry.

* Putting the MemberVariables=public in your .kcfgc is usually a bad idea - you'll avoid accidental changes to those members by using the aggregation and forcing the use of the mutators.

* Putting the MemberVariables=public in your .kcfgc is usually a bad idea - you'll avoid accidental changes to those members by using the aggregation and forcing the use of the mutators.

−

* If your application doesn't have one central object (created before and destructed after; all others) then always put the Singleton=true entry in your .kcfgs file.

+

* If your application doesn't have one central object (created before and destructed after all others) then always put the Singleton=true entry in your .kcfgs file.

Using KConfig XT

This tutorial introduces the main concepts of the KconfigXT
configuration framework and shows how to efficiently use it in applications. It assumes that the reader has already developed a KDE application and is familiar with KConfig. A basic understanding of XML and concepts behind XML Schema is also required.

The main idea behind KConfig XT is to make the life of application developers
easier while making the administration of large KDE installations more manageable.
The four basic parts of the new framework are:

KConfigSkeleton - a class in the libkdecore library which grants a more flexible access to the configuration options,

An ini like file which provides the code generation options (the .kcfgc file)

kconfig_compiler - which generates C++ source code from .kcfg and .kcfgc files. The generated class is based on KConfigSkeleton and provides an API for the application to access its configuration data.

Note

In this tutorial more advanced and optional features of KConfig XT and their descriptions are marked by italic text. If you decide to skip them during the first reading, be sure to come back to them at some point.

.kcfg Structure

The structure of the .kcfg file is described by its XML Schema (kcfg.xsd - available from
here or from the kdecore library ). Please go through it before you go any further.

Lets create a simple .kcfg file. Please reference the code below as we go through each step.

<?xmlversion="1.0"encoding="UTF-8"?><kcfgxmlns="http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0"xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0 http://www.kde.org/standards/kcfg/1.0/kcfg.xsd"><include>kglobalsettings.h</include><kcfgfilename="kjotsrc"/><groupname="kjots"><entryname="SplitterSizes"type="IntList"><label>How the main window is divided.</label></entry><entryname="Width"type="Int"><label>Width of the main window.</label><default>600</default></entry><entryname="Height"type="Int"><label>Height of the main window.</label><default>400</default></entry><entryname="OpenBooks"type="StringList"><label>All books that are opened.</label></entry><entryname="CurrentBook"type="String"><label>The book currently opened.</label></entry><entryname="Font"type="Font"><label>The font used to display the contents of books.</label><defaultcode="true">KGlobalSettings::generalFont()</default></entry></group></kcfg>

Use your favorite code editor to open a your_application_name.kcfg file (of course replacing your_application_name with the name of the application you want to convert to KConfig XT).

Start that file by opening the <kcfgfile> tag which controls which KConfig file the data will be stored in. There are three possibilities:

If the <kcfgfile> tag has no attributes the generated code will use the application's default KConfig file (normally $HOME/.kde/config/<appname>rc).

The "name" attribute is used to manually specify a file name. If the value assigned to "name" is not an absolute file path, the file will be created in the default KDE config directory (normally $HOME/.kde/config).

If you would like to be able to specify the config file at construction time, use <kcfgfile arg="true">. This causes the constructor of the generated class to take a KSharedConfig::Ptr as an argument, allowing you to construct multiple instances pointing to different files.

Add the optional <include> tags which may contain C++ header files that are needed to compile the code required to compute the default values.

The remaining entries in the XML file are grouped by the tag <group> which describes the corresponding groups in the configuration file.

The individual entries must have at least a name or a key. The key is used as the key in the config file. The name is used to create accessor and modifier functions. If <key> is not given, the name is used as the config file key. If <key> is given, but not <name>, the name is constructed by removing all spaces from the <key> contents.

Always add <label>, <tooltip> and <whatsthis> tags to your application in which you describe the configuration options. The <label> tag is used for short descriptions of the entry, while <tooltip> and <whatsthis> contains more verbose documentation. It's important for tools like KConfigEditor which can be used by systems administrators to setup machines over on the network. Note that this tags will be ignored unless you provide SetUserTexts=true option in your .kcfgc file (see section on it below)

An entry must also have a type. The allowed types are: String, Url, StringList, Font, Rect, Size, Color, Point, Int, UInt, Bool, Double, DateTime, Int64, UInt64 and Password. Besides those basic type the following special types are supported and include:

Path - This is a string that is specially treated as a file-path. In particular paths in the home directory are prefixed with $HOME when being stored in the configuration file.

Enum - This indicates an enumeration. The possible enum values should be provided via the <choices> tag. Enum values are accessed as integers by the application but stored as string in the configuration file. This makes it possible to add more values at a later date without breaking compatibility.

IntList - This indicates a list of integers. This information is provided to the application as QList<int>. Useful for storing QSplitter geometries.

PathList - List of Path elements.

The min and max tags can be set to limit the value of the integer-type options.

An entry can optionally have a default value which is used as default when the value isn't specified in any config file. Default values are interpreted as literal constant values. If a default value needs to be computed or if it needs to be obtained from a function call, the <default> tag should contain the code="true" attribute. The contents of the <default> tag is then considered to be a C++ expression.

Additional code for computing default values can be provided via the <code> tag. The contents of the <code> tag is inserted as-is. A typical use for this is to compute a common default value which can then be referenced by multiple entries that follow.

Optionally, the hidden option can also be added to the <entry>. The possible values are true and false.

.kcfgc files

After creating a .kcfg file create a .kcfgc file which describes the C++ file
generation options. The .kcfgc file is a simple ini file with the typical
"entry=value" format. To create a simple .kcfgc file follow these steps:

Open a new file in your favorite text editor.

Start it with the "File=your_application_name.kcfg" entry which specifies where the configuration options for your application are stored.

Add the "ClassName=YourConfigClassName" entry which specifies the name of the class that will be generated from the .kcfg file. Remember that the generated class will be derived from KConfigSkeleton. PLease make sure that YourConfigClassName is not a class name already used in your application. Save this file under yourconfigclassname.kcfgc. This will ensure the generation of the yourconfigclassname.{h,cpp} files where your configuration class will reside.

Adjusting the CMakeLists.txt file

After creating the .kcfg and .kcfgc files the next step is to adjust the
build to let kconfig_compiler generate the required class at compile time. For in-source builds, doing this is trivial and requires only one step, adding this two lines to the CMakeLists.txt file example (asuming your files are named settings.kcfg and settings.kcfgc):

This assures that the configuration class is properly generated (kde4_add_kcfg_files) and that the .kcfg is installed so it can be used by tools like the KConfigEditor (install).

Out-of-source builds

Out-of-source builds require one more step.

The problem: In out-of-source builds, the code that is generated by kconfig_compiler is saved in the build tree. So how can we still include the header generated by kconfig_compiler with a simple #include "settings.h"?

The solution: Probably you have yet a line similar to the following line in your CMakeLists.txt:

include_directories(${QT_INCLUDE}${KDE4_INCLUDES})

Add the variable CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR, so that you get something like this:

Notice that you should call include_directories only once in your project. (When you call include_directories in your base source directory, but than call it another time in a subdirectory (added by add_subdirectory), then the second call will be ignored.)

Use and Dialogs

After making all of the above changes you're ready to use KConfig XT. The
kconfig_compiler generated header file will have the name equal to the name of the .kcfg file but with a ".h" extension. Simply include that file wherever you want to access your configuration options.

The use will depend on whether you have added the Singleton=true entry to your .kcfgc file.

One of the nicest features of the KConfig XT is its seamless integration with the Qt
Designer generated dialogs. You can do that by using KConfigDialog. The
steps to do that are as follows:

Create the KConfigDialog and pass the instance of your configuration data as one of the arguments. The construct would look like the following example:

self() returns the current instance of the object. You need to call writeConfig() this way, since it's a virtual method.

To add a dialog you need to create a Qt Designer widget with the widget names
corresponding to the names of the options they should edit and prefixed with "kcfg_".
It could be something along the lines of:

And you can use the dialog with the following code:

// An instance of your dialog could be already created and could be// cached, in which case you want to display the cached dialog // instead of creating another oneif( KConfigDialog::showDialog("settings"))
return;// KConfigDialog didn't find an instance of this dialog, so lets// create it :
KConfigDialog* dialog =new KConfigDialog(this,"settings",
ExampleSettings::self());
ExampleDesignerWidget* confWdg =new ExampleDesignerWidget(0,"Example");
dialog->addPage( confWdg, i18n("Example"),"example");// User edited the configuration - update your local copies of the // configuration data connect( dialog, SIGNAL(settingsChanged()),this, SLOT(updateConfiguration()));
dialog->show();